Tribals are being used as cannon fodder in Gujarat's communal war. On
February 28, shortly after the Godhra train tragedy sparked off
riots, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organised a meeting at Torda
village of Bhiloda taluka in Sabarkantha district and called the
tribal youth to teach Bohra shopkeepers a lesson. The youth responded
almost instantaneously by looting and burning shops belonging to
Muslims in the area.

A similar meeting held earlier in Kushalpur village of the same
taluka issued a similar call to tribals, who attacked about 70 Muslim
homes in Mudeti village of Sabarkantha.

On March 1, Muslim landlords in Munai village of Bhiloda taluka were
attacked by tribals.

In Thalawada and Mankadi villages of Danta taluka districts of
Banaskantha, hundreds of tribals looted the Bohra businessmen.
While some of these instances could pass as spontaneous reaction to
provocative circumstances, most appear to be designed to terrorise
minority communities. Gujarat's track record over the past 13 years
points to a sustained effort at social engineering.
A study by the Indian Social Action Forum observed that the Hindutva
forces have for long used tribals as a 'shield' to carry out 'ethnic
cleansing'.

The state has witnessed a systematic infusion of communal hatred
since the late eighties. The Sangh Parivar had first mobilised a
large number of tribals for the Ram Janaki Shobha Yatra to draw
support for L.K. Advani's Rath Yatra in 1989.

Soon after Advani's arrest at Samastipur in Bihar during the last leg
of his Rath Yatra, some tribals had attacked Muslims in Virpur, a
town between two tribal districts of Sabarkantha and Panchmahal.
Encouraged by the response to the Shobha Yatra, the Sangh Parivar
moved into the tribal areas of the state in the 1990s through outfits
like Vanavasi Kalyan Parishad (VKP) and the Vivekananda Kendra.
The Sangh Parivar adopted a two-pronged strategy of containing the
Christian missionaries in their area and communalising the tribal
mind. Educational institutions were set up for tribal children,
offering an alternative to the Christian missionaries operating in
the areas. With the Congress hold weakening among the tribals, the
BJP scored on the political front too. In 1998, it wrested both the
Lok Sabha seats of Mandvi and Valsad, reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Women leaders, representing different organisations, vow to unite and
fight communal forces at the inauguration of the 16th conference of
the National Federation of Indian Women in Chennai on Monday. —
Photo: N. Balaji

CHENNAI May 6. With the Gujarat carnage, especially the assault
against women looming large in the background, women's organisations
and groups today vowed to unite and combat communal forces.
The 16th conference of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW)
which began here today, called for a joint fight to make ``Gujarat a
testing ground'' to re-establish secularism and combat ``forces which
wanted to subvert the Constitution''.Condemning the Gujarat Chief
Minister, Narendra Modi's role in the carnage and the Centre for the
situation, the meet wanted a ban on Hindutva organisations.
Tamil Maanila Congress MP, Jayanthi Natarajan, said women's groups
should not rest till the Defence Minister, George Fernandes was
dismissed for his remarks about the incidents of rape in the Gujarat
riots.

The NFIW's president, Dheena Pathak and general secretary, Amarjith
Kaur said the Centre's role in globalisation and the Hindutva groups'
role in spreading communal hatred had to be seen as inseparable
forces, targeting weaker sections — the poor and the women.The
globalisation agenda sought to uproot people from the path of
independent development, robbing it of its traditional knowledge
systems and majoritarian communalism sought to challenge the
Constitution and India's composite but diverse cultures. Women
suffered either way.

``People who had not accepted secularism as a basic Constitutional
premise were now ruling at the Centre.And after their henchmen lost
the elections in five States, their basic agenda is to divide the
people on religious lines, so that we will not fight their economic
agenda unitedly,'' Ms. Kaur said.

The All India Democratic Women's Association general secretary,
Brinda Karat, who termed the RSS as ``the Rashtriya Sarvanash
Samiti'' said the Gujarat carnage was ``unprecedented in
history''.Only three FIRs had been registered for ``cases of rape''
in the state till now. Ms. Karat said there was a subversion not only
of law, but even of the judicial process there.

Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan accused the Union Government of ``trivialising
the Gujarat situation during the Parliamentary debate''. The state
which symbolised the nation's unity during last year's earthquake,
had become a symbol of shame because of the ``state-sponsored
genocide''. She expressed concern over the Hindutva forces
brainwashing women and mobilising them for the ``religions fight''.
During the riots, women's groups had encouraged the ``sevaks'', she
alleged.

Justice Prabha Sreedevan of the Madras High Court, said women had to
challenge the patriarchal models that depicted women as weak, needing
protection.Women were seen only as a wife, mother or sister from this
point of view.

Instead, there was a need for women to realistically evaluate their
self worth and contribution to society.

A woman should see her role and person as precious. It was not as if
she needed to seek power, because women was power herself.
Nafisa Ali, social activist released the conference souvenir.

NEW DELHI MAY 4. F inancial institutions should substantially enhance
lending to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a concerted
manner to further uplift these communities to enable them to join the
national mainstream as equal partners in the country's economic
growth and prosperity.

A strong recommendation in this regard was made today by the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (NCSCST) on the
basis of consensus that emerged during the broad-based consultation
which it had with the heads of financial institutions from all over
the country. The consultation was in the form for a workshop hosted
by the commission on `Role of Financial Institutions fo

r Economic
Development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes'.
Briefing mediapersons at the end of the workshop, the Chairman of
NCSCST, Bizoy Sonkar Shastri, and the commission member, Veena
Nayyar, said the banks had as a first step been asked to meet the
target of a 10 per cent lending to weaker sections in accordance with
the guidelines of the Reserve Bank.

Late morning walks with sun belting down hard are just not
recommended for adolescents. So, when Ms Mayawati chose to play the
doctor and walked 26 hectares in the sweltering heat, it upset the
health of many ageing officials. Yet, they thanked their stars to
have survived the session. It was the maverick's inimitable style to
convey that her ideological moorings were firmly in place. What if
she heads a hotch-potch alliance of 'manuvadi' outfits.

The dalit leader remembered her dream project, Ambedkar Udyan, on the
first Monday of her third innings as chief minister. She went to
inspect the Udyan the state had abandoned after she withdrew from the
ruling alliance five years ago. She returned smiling. Having
resurrected an unfinished dream.

On the hot, sunny morning, the files could wait. The chief minister,
with advisors and officials in tow, drove across the Gomti. At 10 am,
as Ms Mayawati was taking her first step inside the ostentatious park
made of granite, marble and some greenery, the engineers stood lined
up by her side, with prayers on their lips, fearing the worst. It was
ominous. The granite at the entrance looked like coming off. "What's
this?" came a shrill query. The officials left it unanswered. The
pain and anger in the voice was evident.

Here was a lady who had upset the entire uppercaste clan with her
adamance on erecting an expensive structure of "dalit assertion"
right in the heart of an upper middle-class locality. That it was
conceived next to the five-star Taj only rubbed it in. Ms Mayawati is
an order-and-compliance person. But inside the Udyan, she played a
perfectionist to the hilt, surveying the minutest detail. She dug her
eyes deeper and found the base of fountains rusty. Her eyes turned to
a corner to spot the dumped garbage. The face was grim. The granite
floor had cracks filled with cement in a hurried patchwork.

Craftsmanship is not ok," was her verdict. The engineers stood like
dead. A few steps ahead and she recognised the Ashoka tree. A smile
appeared from nowhere. "It has really grown up!" she joyously
remarked.It was hot and sunny. But hardly anything to deter young
couples. Few grew curious and chose to find out what had brought
disorder to their quiet abode. There were a few singles. Within
minutes, a motley crowd was witnessing the drama. The CM moved on
undistracted.

The statue of a serene Gautam Buddha smiles at visitors from a
height. Ms Mayawati climbed the 20-odd steps only to surprise all and
sundry by turning to the Lord's back. "It is not smooth like the
front," was the complaint. "Ma'm, its in the glass case," humbly
pointed out an engineer.

"I think the glass cover can be opened," came the retort. The
instruction was clear. The BSP leader offered flowers to the Lord.
Next was Dr Ambedkar's statue. The stone-finishing on the steps was
not to her liking. "Why should you need a CM to point out the
faults," she wondered.

Unsure of the night lamps, she asked her principal secretary PL Punia
to get them checked. Pushpanjali was offered to the architect of the
constitution. Some distance and she reached a small bridge on a pool.
The overzealous securitymen sought to stop the onlookers but she
asked them to walk on with her. "Let's check if it is strong enough,"
she laughed.

It was a long walk under the unrelenting sun. Ms Mayawati was
unfazed. But officials were ill-prepared. One by her side lost his
balance and almost fell off his feet when Mayawati showed her sharp
reflexes and held him straight. "Bachke Munna (careful Munna)," she
smiled to an embarrassed red face. Few words were necessary. "You may
not realise but it is history for coming generations," she underlined
the importance of her project. That she has mellowed down showed when
she added, "Greatmen of all communities should be respected." They
all nodded in unison. At 11.26 am, the inspection was complete and Ms
Mayawati had demonstrated her priorities. "I will come every week to
see the progress," was her parting shot.

The Tripura police are still groping in dark over the mysterious
appearance of Tripura Autonomous District Council's (ADC) Sridam
Debbarmma kidnapped by suspected National Liberation Front of Tripura
(NLFT) militants on Friday night. The incident attained sensation
amid reports that the kidnapping of the tribal leader was an offshoot
of recently surfaced rift in the leadership in the newly formed
Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT). The INPT which is
governing the ADC is blamed for maintaining a secret nexus with the
NLFT.

The entire episode has assumed a significant turn with the arrest of
senior INPT leader Mebar Kumar Jamatia, the sole witness to the
kidnapping. Mr Sridam Debbarma accompanied Mr Jamatia in the
Gurudayal Para under Takarjala police station, from where he was
kidnapped by ultras. Mr Jamatia was arrested for his alleged
involvement in the incident and was sent to 5 day police remand
yesterday.

The INPT, however, flayed the arrest saying that the police has been
acting at the behest of the ruling CPI (M). The party says the police
is in the process of manipulating the kidnapping incident and divert
attention. Justifying the arrest top police brass are of the strong
opinion that Jamatia had a role in the incident and he could bring
light into the investigation.

During interrogation, Jamatia reportedly repeated the same "eye
witness account". He said both of them were proceeding towards
Gurudayal Para on foot when three armed militants intercepted them
and asked them to follow. After a while, they let him off, but took
the Executive Member into the forests.

The incident was a mystery for a number of reasons. First Sridam
Debbarma left his vehicle and two personal security officers (PSOs)
at the Jampuijala market and moved towards Gurudayal Para with his
accomplice Jamatia. Second, Jamata and the PSOs returned from the
area to Khumlung, ADC headquarters in the night without informing the
concerned Takarjala police station of the incident.

Moreover, Sridam did not inform his movement to the area special
branch police or the Takarjala police station - which has been a
common practice by the top political leaders and office bearers. The
PSOs reported the incident to the Jirania police station, near
Khumlung, several hours after the kidnapping occurred. Giving the
facts and circumstances, the kidnapping continues to be a case of
mystery.

But the popular theory emerged is that Sridam's kidnapping was direct
fallout of utter differences in the INPT. The investigation is now
concentrating on this. Recently Mebar Jamatia was removed as
president of the tribal students federation (TSF), a wing of the
INPT. The man replaced Mebar was a close associate of Sridam. Senior
leaders in the party were also gripped in rift over posts and
policies. A number of leaders objected to party's change in stand on
contentious issues like the demand for a "autonomous state within
state". Many leaders representing different political parties are
blamed for keeping close ties with underground militant groups

Karnataka Slum Clearance Board Chairman C Narayanappa today urged
people belonging to backward classes to give up inferiority complex
and make use of the facilities extended by the government for their
welfare.

Inaugurating the 111th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar organised
by the Dalit, Backward Classes and Minorities Committee, Bangalore
district here, Mr Narayanappa advised the backward classes people to
exploit the opportunities given to them by the government and
progress in life. They should also alert the government when it fail
to perform its duties.

Ms Nirmala Venkatesh, MLC, the chief guest on the occasion observed
that active participation of women in development activities would
help in safeguarding the welfare of oppressed people. Mr A
Narayanaswamy, MLA, Anekal and Mr Ravi Kumar, Chairman, Social
Justice Committee, Bangalore urban zilla panchayat were felicitated
on the occasion.

Hyderabad, May 6: The pitiable plight of children in the State has
become a matter of serious concern for the Unicef.

"All must move beyond rhet-oric so that children in Andhra Pradesh
experience a brighter reality," State representative of Unicef
William R Thompson told reporters on Monday.

Speaking on the eve of a special session for children, which would be
held in the city from May 8 and would coincide with the UN General
Assembly's session on children, he said six out of 100 children in
the State die before they reach one year.

Thompson said there was tremendous disparity in the chances of
survival with infant mortality rate reaching 37 per cent in urban
areas compared to 75 in rural areas. Thompson said only 32 per cent
children have their births registered and 38 per cent are
malnourished. Twenty-three per cent babies are severely underweight
(below 2.5 kg).

He said 72 per cent children suffer from anaemia and only 59 per cent
are immunised. Just 49 per cent boys and 31 per cent girls complete
primary education and child marriages are rampant with 49 per cent
girls marrying before they touch 15 years.

He said, "Is this the visage of the child that we wish to see in AP.
Is this present legacy of the child the one that we wish to bestow on
future generations." Stating that the situation prevalent in the
State was not acceptable to anyone, he said, "We must act resolutely
to address the problems faced by children."

Visakhapatnam, May 6: Preparations have begun for the construction of
Bouddha Vihar project at Bojjanna Konda near Anakapalle, said Maha
Bodhi Society president B S Chalam.

Addressing the society's meeting held on Sunday, Chalam said the
project would cost around Rs 25 lakh and the process is on for
collecting donations from Buddhist bodies, voluntary organisations
and important persons of the city. So far Rs 25,000 was collected and
the project would be completed within four months.

Buddhist monks from all over the country would visit Bojjanna Konda
in December this year, he told the participants of the meeting.
Two-acre land was needed for this project and the land alone would
cost Rs 36 lakh, as per the current market rates. The project will
have restrooms for the visiting monks and a meditation centre called
Vipasana would be constructed.

Chalam said two monks would permanently stay at the shrine and run a
school. He appealed to the city-based Buddhist organisations to come
forward and pool up additional resources.

Noted lawyer and Buddhist writer M V S Appa Rao said the spread of
Buddhism was essential for maintaining global peace and the Buddhist
shrines needed better infrastructure to expand their activities.
Former NSTL scientific officer and a Buddhist preacher Prachand said
a small percentage of income sourced from the foreign tourism should
be earmarked for development of Buddhist shrines in the district.
Later the committee elected new office-bearers. M V S Appa Rao was
elected as president, B S Chalam vice-president, Gandhi Naveen as
secretary, Bora Venugopal Gautam and G Babu as joint secretaries,
Ambati Sarveswara Rao as additional secretary and Alli Musalaiah as
treasurer.

Kurnool, May 6: The district administration's move to emancipate and
rehabilitate child labourers, received a severe setback on Monday
when parents of a group of rag-pickers put up stiff resistance as
officials attempted to take away their children.

Members of an official team which went to the Joharapuram area to
take into custody a group of rag-pickers, were confronted by their
irate parents who vehemently opposed the move saying they did not
want their kids to languish in the so-called rehabilitation centres
which were worse than their present homes.

When the officials tried to take away the children forcibly, the
parents attacked their vehicles with sticks forcing them to take to
their heels and leave the children behind.

Reacting sharply to the ghastly incident in which two children were
made to work as bonded slaves (they were even put in shackles) by the
owner of a beedi unit in lieu of the money he had lent to their
parents, in Kurnool district, the State government had directed the
district administration to take steps on a war-footing to put an end
to child labour menace.

This prompted a series of raids on beedi units and other factories
besides cement quarries and hotels. At least 326 child slaves were
set free by the officials.

Monday's raid near Joharapuram village was headed by Mohammed Isak,
project director of the department for Child Labourers'
Rehabilitation and field directors Omkar and Pratap Reddy besides the
convenor of the Association for Child Labour Eradication Jamma-laiah.
Even as the team members tried to take into custody a group of about
18 rag-pickers, the children raised an alarm attracting the attention
of their parents.

The parents said even they wanted their children to study but were
forced to send them to work due to financial constraints.
Attempts to explain that the kids would be sent to rehabilitation
centres where they would be provide facilities, proved futile as the
unrelenting parents quoted incidents of children running away from
such centres.

What makes the tribals such soft targets for socio-political
experimentation? While successive governments in the country have
done little to improve the lot of tribals, conversion to Christianity
has afforded them some dignity.

Some tribal communities, especially Oraons of the Raigarh-Ambikapur
area, went in for mass conversion to Christianity about a century ago
to escape the oppressive feudal rule. Churches proceeded to build
community-based welfare institutions, says Vinayak Sen of
Chhattisgarh Lok Swatantra Sangathan.

'Reconversion', as practised by the Sangh Parivar, is based on
political definition of Hindutva, which considers tribals a part of
the Hindu stream.

Depleting forest wealth and changing conservation laws uprooted the
tribals from their natural habitat. Also, the abdication of political
and administrative responsibility by successive state governments in
MP, Bihar and UP facilitated the advent of Naxalites in the tribal
pockets.

Political expediency apparently forced Sangh Parivar's militant arms
like the Bajrang Dal and the VHP to hardsell the re-conversion theory
and lend momentum to the BJP's forward march.

While in Chhattisgarh and MP the communalisation of tribals was
directed against the Christians and yielded "moderate political
success", the anti-Muslim edge imparted to the campaign in Gujarat
caused a bigger upheaval.

It was perhaps due to the economic scenario of the area and political
spadework by the Sangh Parivar that tribals could be enlisted for
such an intense battle.

With their newfound 'Hindu enlightenment' the tribals were easily
turned against the Bohras, perceived as liberal Muslims.
The VHP and Bajrang Dal also expanded their base in the eastern and
northern tribal districts of Sabarkantha, Panchmahal and Dahod. They
co-opted tribal youngsters into the 'Hindu fold' by offering them
honorary positions in the village units of their organisations.
These 'positions' gave the tribals a semblance of upward social
mobility, especially as they could play a role in the use of
development funds under the BJP rule. The BJP is apparently counting
on tribals for electoral support.

Patna May 8. In a second strike within 48 hours on Dalits in Bihar,
six more were gunned down by the proscribed People's War Group in
Patna district late last night, police said. PWG cadres of the
Jaynandan Yadav faction, armed with sophisticated weapons, fired at
Bhadaura village killing the six, including two women and two
childrenAn additional company of Bihar Military Police was rushed to
the villagein Masaurhi police station area. A combing operation was
underway.

Published on: May 09, 2002
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